Will fight polls if people of Azamgarh allow me: Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow, Jan 19: Amid buzz on contesting UP elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that he will first take the permission from the people of Azamgarh.

"I will seek the permission of the people of Azamgarh if I decide to contest the elections. I need to seek their permission because they elected me from there," said Akhilesh.

"First of all I would like to congratulate and extend best wishes. I am also happy that our socialist ideology is expanding. I hope that our ideology will reach there and work to save the constitution and democracy," the SP president told reporters in his first response on Aparna Yadav joining the BJP.

"Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) tried very hard to convince her," he said when asked if efforts were made to stop Aparna Yadav from joining the ruling party.

Aparna Yadav is married to Prateek Yadav, the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav's second wife, while Akhilesh Yadav is his son from the first marriage.

Earlier reports were rife that Akhilesh will contest Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

The move comes after the BJP's Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, decided to contest the polls for the first time.

Adityanath has been declared BJP candidate from Gorakhpur. Gorakhpur is the hometown of Adityanath. He had been the MP from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat since 1998 until he became the chief minister in 2017.

Earlier, Akhilesh Yadav, the chief minister face of his party, said he will ''not be contesting the assembly polls''.

In the 2012 elections following the victory of the SP, Akhilesh assumed office on 15 March 2012 at the age of 38, becoming the youngest person to have held the office. Yadav currently is a Member of Parliament from the Azamgarh constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

He was first elected as MP from the Kannauj constituency in 2000. Yadav is the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the founder of the Samajwadi Party.

Elections for the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly are scheduled to be held in seven phases starting from February 10.